The present invention relates generally to coin slide devices that are used in the vending machine industry, and in particular to a novel and highly effective jamming mechanism for such devices.
Slide mechanisms are commonly used in connection with machines for which a coin or a multiple number of coins must be utilized to effect a particular vending operation such as placing a laundry machine in service. Such equipment is placed in public locations that often cannot be adequately supervised to protect against attempts to obtain the services of the vending equipment without pay.
In a typical machine, the coil slide device is provided with a slide that is normally held in place by a stop of some type that is disengaged when the appropriate coins are utilized and that then permits the slide to move into a position where the coins will drop out of the slide and the machine will become operative. A common security problem arises in that, when the equipment is situated in essentially unsupervised locations, persons may utilize excessive force on the handle, for example by hammering, to attempt to cause the disengagement of the stop mechanism, usually by breaking or deforming the stop, and thereby enable the slide to move into an operative position. Such a situation is serious not only because the device is broken and the services of the machine are immediately obtained without pay, but also because the malfunction of the stop mechanism is not necessarily readily detectable by the owner of the vending equipment. Thus, the slide can be continually pushed back and forth on subsequent occasions by various patrons to render the machine operative and a substantial amount of revenue can be lost by the machine owner.